Giving Life to Imagination

When I was a little girl, I had a doll-house which was very similar to this one:

The Doll house

The house was perfect for little elves but my giant Miss World Barbie called it first. In a few weeks, I understood that the bed in the house was only suitable for her petite head. I then went on a rampage until I got a bed that fit her size. Like I would stand in front of the store (ironically called Cheap House in Lucknow!) and demand a bed for my doll. If my mother would disagree, I would tell her that I was willing to part with my Rakhi money for it. My sweet mother always obliged because apparently lying on the floor and throwing fits was worse! My Rakhi money was kept safe till I grew up, had a boyfriend and spent all my savings in recharging my calling card. Only if my mother knew better! Anyway, that bed looked exactly like this one:

So you see I had an eye for all things pretty for a nest from a very early age! If Steve Jobs had developed iPhone when he was younger, I could have shown you hundreds of selfies with my collection. But since our 36-film roll camera was reserved for special occasions like cutting the cake in the same position each year, horse back ride in Nainital and dressing up like village-women in Mussoorie, I don't have pictures of my toys that were bought by my mother at gunpoint. But these are almost the same.

Along with playing with these dolls, kitchen sets, stuffed animals, etc, I also grew up listening to myriad tales from my mother and granny. Because they hailed from Rajasthan, they had extensive knowledge about the Rajput queens as well as Lord Krishna, the Hare and the Tortoise and the 'new-age' Cinderella. Each night, my mother repeated these stories and I fell asleep feeling the same awe every time Cinderella found her prince charming. Really, mothers are the most patient creatures in the world.

These tales did have a lot of effect on me - I've learnt never to give up from the tortoise, I've learnt to be humble (ahem!) from Cinderella, I've learnt you can be good and naughty at the same time from the Krishna tales, and I've learnt about the strength of a woman from the folk tales of Rajasthan. (Also, the biggest lesson that I took from these ladies was how to glam-up and always look pretty but that's not something my granny was aiming at!)

Soon I outgrew those toys and tales, finished my studies and got married. But those memories, they will go with me to my grave. Isn't that true with each one of us; I mean the girls? I played Monopoly (a.k.a. Business), Battlefield, Chess, Snakes and Ladders, Ludo, several outdoor games... but it is these girly toys that remain my favorite. I could live in that doll house, I could be Jodha Bai, I could marry the Prince... actually in my head, I already did!

When I moved into my own house with my husband, it was like I was playing the Princess and he was the Prince Charming. Sure I did not have my own chariot nor did he have his own castle, but neither of us were complaining. The first thing that you need to make a house a castle is lots of love. And boy, we didn't have any dearth of it.

But then comes a tricky part - giving a personal style to the house. When I came into this place, it was already furnished. The look was quite minimalistic and western. Our culture is so colorful that giving a living space an ethnic look makes a lot of sense to me. I also believe in giving each room it's own identity - one can be chic, one can be eccentric, and one can be ethnic.

The stories from childhood were still playing in my mind like they've always had. The lessons were in my heart, but I still wished for those settings. Since fairies and elves were a 'tad' childish for our taste now, I thought bringing home these glamorous queens and stuff from their courtyard from MakeMyHome would help in bringing my own story together. This cushion cover, mirror and men with musical instruments could assist in bringing things to life that I had only imagined through those tales: 

Cushion Cover from MakeMyHome - Rs. 225

Apno Rajasthan Warli Painting on Large Mirror
From MakeMyHome - Rs. 1584

Karigaari Music Men Set
From MakeMyHome - Rs. 2380

And if someone asks me the story behind decorating my living room with these, the tale will go thus:

There lived a Queen who had found her Prince Charming

She called her land maaro Rajasthan

Everyday she spent hours dressing

To look pretty for her Nawab!

The courtyard would dazzle when she'd walk through it

The artists played tunes in her honour

One smile and the Raja's eyes would lit

And she would just blush from one corner!

Oh yes, bedtime tales from childhood can do that to you. You assume yourself to be a princess, and why not! And with these around me, my home will feel like a mahal. I can also change the sofa covers, bring in some ethnic table cloth, add class with some Rajasthani sculptures and give a whole new look to my simple looking living room.

This makeover was not only inspired by tales from my childhood but also an apartment we rented out recently in Vienna. It's theme was Emperor Sissi of the Habsberg Dynasty from Austria. The whole apartment was tastefully done with the portraits of the empress and things from her era. I was taken back several centuries and felt like a princess myself. And then I thought how our Rajputana princesses were no less. How elegant it would be to decorate the whole living room with a theme in mind. The room below looks like one from the stories I have heard and read. Wouldn't it be great to have a room that looked like this one:

Living room for inspiration

Yes, if I had to re-do my living room, I would go back to my love for picking the prettiest things for my house and then give life to those tales from my wonderful childhood memories.


I was taken back to my childhood when I came across this contest on Blogadda sponsored by MakeMyHome. Bloggers have to pick 3 items from the special link and tell why and how they will re-do their house with those items. I just loved the experience of digging memories and sharing them here. 

Images from here: The Dollhouse, Barbie Bed, Living room for inspiration, Decorative items from MakeMyHome

This post is a part of Makemyhome activity at BlogAdda.com

When I saw the 'Star Pariwar Awards' of the West

I think it was 14 years ago that I started watching American television, or rather what defined it for me - FRIENDS. Before that I only saw what my aunt use to watch - The Bold and The Beautiful - from the corner of my eye because it was an 'adult' show!! I still remember Brooke and Taylor and Ridge and their complicated lives!

Ofcourse Small Wonder, Bewitched, I dream of Jeanie, Wonder Years, Doogie Howser M.D. were a part of my childhood. But it was FRIENDS that really got me into it. School, college and friends gave us little time to watch the other prime-time shows. Also, my mum was like a detective keeping an eye on my every move on the remote control. She did not like me watching angrezi channels at all!

So I finished FRIENDS in 2005 when the Boy burnt 20 CDs for me and my friends from his IIT campus. They had free Internet and a huge database of every kind. I don't know if torrent existed back then, and so his gift was like the best thing in the world. I still have all those CDs and I refuse to download a better version.

When I got married, I had a lot of free time because the Boy had a traveling job and I was stuck in hotels. It was then I started watching How I met your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Two and Half Men, Rules of Engagement, Desperate Housewives, Sex and the city, et al. After that there was no looking back. We watched one television series after the other and (un)fortunately never went back to the Zee TV, Star Plus or Colors of India.

To think of it, there is such a stark difference between them and us. Yesterday, while watching the Emmy awards, I was wondering how elegant their stars looked in those gowns. I felt emotional when Aaron Paul hugged Bryan Cranston because Breaking Bad is indeed the best television series ever. I felt awesome for Modern Family because it makes you laugh and cry at the same time. Jim Parsons and Mathew McConaughey deserve all the adulation they receive because their acting is mind-blowing. But when they have an award ceremony in India, I feel nothing for anyone.

I miss them so much!

What is it that they have that we don't have? I am sure our writers are as brilliant but the market demands only saas-bahu series. Isn't the market changing? I don't know of any friends who watch these sagas. And really, is it actually the depiction of our society?  I mean what if an American comes and watches Ye Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai. Right from the ghoonghat to how men and women are always at home discussing house politics, is downright abysmal. When you watch their television you are blown by their description, their acting, their story building, etc. When you watch our television, you can only tear your hair apart.

Missing them, anyone?

Now I am not someone who likes everything American. I think Bollywood is trying to improve slowly and I support it completely. I even like the fact that some Indian authors are atleast trying to write better stuff. Our culture is unique and it definitely has a lot of potential which can certainly be shown in a better way. These saas-bahu series are definitely not us and we should really stop watching them altogether.

With 24 and Comedy Nights, a little bit has changed. But that's just .01% betterment from the crap that we see on Indian television. I hope one day I can watch Star (not Pariwaar) Awards and think of the day I saw Emmy 2014 and then compare the two in a positive light. I think I am looking at 50 years from now! Or maybe more. But I still have some hope for our country. I also think the Johars and the Chopras of the country should invest in trying new things on television. They have too much money to last generations then why not give our country something to look forward to in the future. I am sure there is talent around here; stop patronizing only Chetan Bhagat and move ahead.

Have you been to one of these?

There comes a time in everyone’s life when you have to attend what kids love and adults hate – kid's birthday parties! It starts as soon as you enter the aunty-uncle zone or the married zone. Ironically, as soon as they see red vermilion (who puts that!) they see ‘green’ and you become a member of that elite list getting invites to their ‘fun’ birthday parties.

For us it started at the same time as well. We were just settling in with our newly married life. It was all about clubbing, watching movies, eating out, hanging out with friends, etc, etc. All was hunky dory until we realised we were also surrounded with people with kids. The Boy is as anti-social as it gets. But me, I am a social animal who can talk to a two year old and an 80 year old with equal ease. Yes, it is an art which I will talk about in another post. I am actually very proud of it. Anyway, I digress.

Now kids are amazing. So are the parents who raise them with such responsibility and patience. But when they turn a year older, we become a part of their social circle as well. And so, they invited us to join in their happiness and I was obliged. I kind of saw the whole thing as yet another party with friends. What I did not know that they also had, wait for it, couple games!

So I told you how the Boy is anti-social. This dude will grab a beer and hide in one corner. The person managing the whole party would call the mummies and daddies and well, the 'unfortunate' couples! I would look around only to tell the host that the husband was missing. The host, knowing the Boy’s antics all too well, would drag him from his corner and we would then stand at the end of a particular line. When everyone would get lost trying to win the game, we would happily drift away and call it a victory.

This went on for some time until the Boy found a way out. If the party was in a big hotel, he would grab a few men who were as bored as him and head to the pub. What if the party was in a vegetarian, dry place with no such recreational areas? Oh well, he would have three pints of beer at home and then head to a toddler's birthday party. Sounds fair, no?

This guy has gone ahead and told everyone his special love these birthday parties. I’ve told him umpteen number of times to keep his humble feelings to himself lest people stopped inviting us. I told you, I see this as just another party where I get to meet people and talk. But no, he has voiced his opinion to every parent in town. I think there are only 5 couples here who still don’t have babies. So you can imagine where that leaves us!

We are still better-off.  We have only 4-5 such parties to attend in a year. There are parents who need to attend atleast five times more such events. Oh, I pity them so much. The kids have a blast though. You should see the time when they cut the cake. The sparkle in their eyes is so amazing. And then they use their tiny hands to dig into the cake and devour it since, you know, a cake tastes the best that way!

Yes, all my dreams of having that one thing that I love vanish in thin air and I walk away. I see the Boy laughing in one corner with a few other people, surprisingly enjoying a whole lot and then wish why I didn’t have my pint.

The parents tell us that these kids will very soon grow up and be irritating 10-year olds. Then they would want to go out with their friends and not celebrate with us. I agree. I have held each one of them as a new born. Watching them grow older is a blessing. Only if the Boy realised that this will not last forever.

Oh, I think that’s a silver lining for him – that this will not last forever.

Ice, Ice Baby meets Thanda Thanda Paani

Every few months our social networking websites do something good and it makes us look at them in a positive light. Recently the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge has been quite a success. For those who don’t know, this challenge is raising awareness for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and aiming to raise money for its association. Through the challenge, people have to pour ice water on themselves, make a video, post on a social networking site and then challenge three other people. If those people fail to respond within the next 24 hours by doing the same, they have to donate to a charity. In the last 20 days, the association has raised $15.6 million, a little less than ten times the normal amount they've previously raised in the same time period.

Now the likes of Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Steven Spielberg, Oprah Winfrey, Justin Bieber, et al. have already taken up this challenge. The initial reactions to the icy cold water have been really funny in some videos. What if this came to Indian celebs (you know, maybe Anil Kapoor and Priyanka Chopra get tagged by their colleagues ;) )? How will they respond when a bucket-full of ice water is poured over them? Well, here’s a sneak peak, and a light hearted one at that:

Ailaa, it’s cold – God/Sachin Tendulkar

It’s normal, I do this everyday – Sunny Leone

Wow, I mean WOW, so cold – Saif Ali Khan

Jejus, O Jejus - Rakhi Sawant

Thanda tha. Agar Modi ne nahi kiya to hum dharna karenge – Arvind Kejriwal

Mitro, thande din aa gaye, ache bhi aayenge. Vande Mataram. – Narendra Modi

Muaahh - Imran Hashmi

Exotic, oh no, cold – Priyanka Chopra

Cold, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, icy cold – Sonam Kapoor

Ice: Bucket, Bucket: Ice, Ice: Water, Water: Ice, Water: Cold, Cold: Water, Cold: Me, Me: Gutthi

RTI - is it suppose to be this cold? – Rahul Gandhi

If Nation wants to know how it was, they should tune in at 8 – Arnab Goswami

Half Cold – Chetan Bhagat

I have a degree in this  - Smriti Irani

Man, I needed this  –  Mahendra Singh Dhoni

Brrr! How do you think I came up with K K K K K Kiran – Shahrukh Khan

Old, Bold, Sold, Fold, Cold – Navjot Sigh Siddhu

It was my idea, thanda thanda paani - Baba Sehgal

___________________ Dr. Manmohan Singh

After you are done laughing, visit this link and encourage the youth by just writing something under 130 characters in the box there. When you're done, IndiBlogger will kindly loan a Milaap's borrower Rs. 1000 on your behalf (you don't pay). Sweet, isn't it? You just have to go to the site and you'll help someone get a job. Be a good Samaritan, sweetheart! I won't make fun of you, promise. I won't mind even if you don't comment and used your precious time hopping over to their website. Me and four of my friends have posted already... that's a good Rs. 5000 raised :)

P.S. I think the bucket challenge is amazing. This was in good humour and should be taken in the same spirit.

Missing the rush

So, you know, I’ve grown old. A few strands of hair have turned Grey. And now when someone asks my age I have to think twice -  like I’ve forgotten. Or, maybe, stopped counting.

On friendship day, I was even finding it cheesy to wish my friends. Then it dawned upon me the fun we use to have sitting on my bed at home eating Koki and discussing boyfriends. I use to tell my friends everything. Starting from today he looked at me, or he held my hand or whatever happened between ‘us’! I have always been blessed with a lot of very good friends. So in those days, every event had to be narrated atleast 5 times; usually by a phone call just after I returned home!

When I was 14 I had my first crush. Yeah, that late. The telephone was in the middle of the house. So when I use to call my friend to narrate the events of the day, I had to give girly names to the boys of the class. Man, what was I thinking? My mum would have laughed in the kitchen listening to the stupid stuff that I thought I was very clever to disguise.

Today, every teenager has a mobile phone. They can password protect it and chat away to glory. They can click pictures and keep looking. Oh boy, I had just one picture! And in school, we just had class pictures!

Not only this, I use to love it so much when I use to get blank calls! There was so much mystery attached to who the real caller was. And till you did not know, you could easily cook stories in your head and choose your favorite person as the caller. Damn truecaller of today. Even if someone tries to call you from a random mobile number, this truecaller will identify and let you know.

Not that I want someone to call now! It is a nightmare at this age. I’ve had some issues with a few blank callers and it was damn scary. Eventually I reported it to the someone whom I thought could tell the person to stop. And it did stop. But back then, the day was made!

Actually the digital age is quite boring. Emails don’t have the same romance as letters with kisses and perfume. You can see on Skype, you can hear on Viber, you can read on Whatsapp but you could feel in those letters. There is no doubt that the STD rates were expensive at Rs. 4.5 , but the rush of knowing that you will be able to talk today, even for a few minutes, was amazing. When you have less of something, it’s priceless, isn’t it?

When I was in college, the Boy went to France for a student exchange program. I use to get very little pocket money in which I had to take care of petrol, phone and canteen expenses. I use to not switch on the AC just so I could save on petrol and have extra cash for calling. We had Internet, but our timings did not match. So, this is the only way we could manage. I will always treasure that memory. If I had Viber, would I remember any of this?

Until a few months back, not all my school friends had Whatsapp. So we didn’t really have a group. We use to mail each other atleast once a month updating about our lives. This particular set of friends have very different lifestyles, but still we remain like sisters. Only because we mailed each other frequently. On a dull day, I would go back to mails we wrote in 2006 when we all were in different cities, living in hostels and learning to adapt into a new life. Or 2008, the year I got married. I dig mails from 2010 when a friend was hunting every matrimonial website for a suitable guy. The fun we had just through those mails is amazing. And there is a record of everything.

With Whatsapp, the memories are just in our head. Also, we update less. Because when you chat, you tend to talk about the day and not everything under the sun. Mails give you freedom to write at your own pace and express. Ofcourse I can still mail. Ofcourse I can still sprinkle a little perfume and send a letter. But the time, that time is just gone. And I really miss it.

I have a wonderful life. I have new friends with whom I can share everything, even my sex life. But i miss the rush because it is all so mundane! We were more adventurous when we were younger. We were willing to take risks. Now we are more responsible, more planned, more organized and all that shit!!!

Yes, there is comfort in routine. There is peace and happiness. But hell, happiness, peace and comfort are all signs of growing up. To get that rush, we would have to change cities. Changing cities would mean taking a risk which we are not willing to take now. So, how do we get that rush? 

Ah, does this happen to everyone in their early 30’s? Or did I grow up too fast?! Perhaps the grass is always greener on the other side. I should talk to people who are living the so-called adventurous life not knowing where their next year is going to be. Maybe that will make me treasure my routine more. 

P.S. This is just one of those nostalgic posts. 99/100 days, I love the routine more!! :p

A Walk through Vienna and Salzburg - Part 1

This year we decided to visit Austria with the Boy's parents. We chose this country because the older generation loves greenery and mountains more than anything else. We wanted to show them how a foreign country actually looks like since they've just seen Bahrain and our resident country is not the best example of a good-looking phoren destination! And sending them through a group holiday would have meant creamy, greasy Indian food from restaurants that would have raised their cholesterol and blood pressure levels.

So this vacation was a very different one. We booked apartments instead of hotels so that we can do some cooking as well. We took theplas, dals and masalas. Any European country supermarket is like a normal one where you would find everything from onions to tomatoes to eggplant to cauliflower. So we bought our daily veges everyday. Me and MIL divided the chores and the daily cooking thing was a cakewalk. A dishwasher in both our apartments simplified our job further. Plus, me and the Boy usually ate out. So it was just for them.

Anyway, I started with cooking in this post because that was really one unique thing which we did in this trip. Since we plan to travel a lot in life, I think this experience will help us in the years to come when we would prefer home cooked meals while discovering the world. Also, the thrill of cooking in a new kitchen is amazing. The same chores become exciting!

With the menu included in my well-planned itinerary, we stepped into Vienna. The views from the plane were amazing. This country has so much green cover, it's unbelievable. I saw a lot of forest cover from the plane itself.

When you venture into the city, the first thing that strikes you is the great architecture. The first day we visited St. Stephan's Cathedral. The Gothic architecture both in and outside the church was mind-blowing. (We then remembered how we have been to more churches than temples in the last 5 years!) We walked around the square and ate at a Turkish restaurant before retiring in our sweet abode.

St. Stephan's Cathedral - One of the best I've ever seen

Stephan's Cathedral from the outside.
My inability to take pictures can capture only this much!

Oh yes, before going further I would like to tell you about the beautiful house we stayed in. It's called Emperor Sissi's center jewel. It was located about a kilometer away from the city center and was like a home away from home and a very, very pretty one at that. With two bedrooms, 2 baths, fully-equipped kitchen and a typical Vienna neighborhood, we felt like we belonged there. Have a look at this apartment which has a former empress as its theme:

The lovely living area.

One of the bedrooms. The apartment is like a dream home from which
all of us can take inspiration to decorate.

The next morning we hopped on a Hop-on-Hop-off bus and explored the Danube river that flows through Vienna. We took a cruise and admired the beauty. We then went to the Hofburg Palace that has housed some of the most powerful people in the European and Austrian history. The architecture of this mammoth building which is the current residence of the President of Austria as well, was astonishing. Every building in Vienna, be it squares, palaces, hotels, opera house, you name it, is a work of art owing to it's sculptures engraved just about everywhere. The Palace has several museums depicting the life of those who lived in there once. The most famous of them all was this Empress Elisabeth or Sissi (on whom the apartment is themed as well). Her life was quite tragic and probably that's why she was the most remembered.

The writing on the wall.

Commonly seen carriage rides.

A small part of the Hofburg Palace
 (picture taken from Wikipedia since I forgot to click!)

On day three we visited the summer palace of the Habsburg dynasty - the Schönbrunn Palace.We just admired it's architecture from the outside and visited the gardens. Oh, they were so pretty. Later that afternoon we went to Naschmarkt for lunch. We were hunting for an Indian restaurant in the area and even Google maps failed us. Just because we had parents we kept the hunt on and eventually landed at a very neat place. You know, in these countries every one speaks their native language. It's weird how we order in Hindi if we find a Hindi speaking person in a foreign location. Had it been India, we would have ordered in English. All this makes me question our patriotism. But then, that is for another post.

The gardens of the Schonbrunn Palace

I loved every sculpture I saw.

After our tummy was full, we headed to the outskirts of Vienna to see the city from a hill. It was spectacular. We had coffee in the only restaurant there. The place had only one person who was the cook, the cashier and the waiter. Even then he made our coffee with such love! There were four people behind us, but we were his top priority. It is really experiences like these that you remember for life. Small gestures go such a long way.

Vienna from a hilltop

Excellent Public transport in the city

This particular evening we left the parents at home and went to a free open air screening of a ballet! Our main interest was in the food stalls that they had there. I drank to my heart's content because I couldn't in front of my FIL! Although they wouldn't mind, I just couldn't get myself to hold a glass in front of them.We walked the streets at night... alone. It was so blissful.

The Parliament Building - my most favorite in whole of Vienna

Vienna City hall at night - free shows everyday while we were there :)

We had to leave Vienna for Salzburg the next day. I was going to miss my home there. I was going to miss the low rise buildings with beautiful architecture. I was going to miss the many walks we did all across the city... the weather was awesome all throughout. Vienna was kind to us. Little did I know that I would fall in love with the next city more than this one...

Hello World!

You know you've not written a blog post since long when somehow your subscribers get notifications of your old posts. Something like that happened today when Google baba started missing me and sent out posts from April! Thousand apologies to baba for disappearing without informing.

When regular bloggers like moi don't post for long it only means that either they are too happy doing something they like more or they are too sad to get inspired. Well, I have been a bit of both. I've become like that teenager who gets a new crush every day and a heart break every week. Oh no, I'm not in love with anyone with his jeans hanging below his butt *thankfully*; I'm just having mood swings and being unlike I've ever been. Maybe the universe is changing.

Anyhoo, lets leave this sad rubbish behind us and talk about sunny mornings, rainy afternoons and romantic nights 'coz baby (it just felt like a rap so...!!) that's what kept me happy in the days gone by. We explored the streets of Vienna and climbed the hills of Salzburg. A trip report is due for Austria and I shall very soon make you jealous with my awesome pictures.

In other news I made a friend in my building. She said she had read my blog before from somewhere and is now a new stalker. Oh, I love her already!! I just love to make new friends and finally, I found someone in my own building. It has been 3 long years here and I desperately needed to have a friend without having to call my cabbie to take me to my old building. It's amazing how chatterboxes like me feel elated just by having a half an hour conversation with someone during the day.

Did I tell you that I won an iPad mini on Facebook? Haha! It so happened that while scrolling down my timeline I read something on the right that said 'Win 10 iPads'. Naturally, I was drawn. Now there was an Arabic song which I had to hear and answer 3 questions. Boy, I nailed it! They chose 10 random winners from like 10 countries and I was one of them. Whoa!! It was the most shocking prize I have ever won. Now I am rich after selling it! Also, now I am addicted. My stupid profile shows that I like 100's of products and participate in a lot of contests. Actually what goes; it is better than stalking, isn't it?

A few days back my dad called me up and asked me how I'm unable to sleep at night because of a nagging pain. He told me to do his favorite pranayam every morning and kept down the phone. He's direct like that. No hi, no bye - to the point and ting! So, since then, if I don't do pranyam in the morning I feel like I'm disobeying him!! God, some people can have such an affect on you. But yes, pranayam is awesome. The rush of oxygen in your body makes you feel like you've had a couple of tequila shots and you're ready to rule the world. Whether it will help me or not I don't know, but I'm loving my morning dose of desi daaru!!

So what's next? I have 3 trips lined up till December. We've got new places to travel to, Diwali to celebrate at home and weddings to attend. It's going to be a very busy last quarter and I'm loving it! Highs and lows are a part of life and make it what it is. I read this awesome blogpost today on Wordssetmefree. Although I always knew the message it carries, revision was extremely necessary. Read it to get inspired.

Take care while I select photos to upload. See you around!